dream #1 - poker baseball
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May 16th, 2006
(note: From time to time, I’ve decided to post short descriptions of dreams I have. I’m certain that every one I describe will sound weird, and may even elicit comments such as “Hey Eric, that is a WEIRD dream.” But I don’t think that most people have “normal” dreams anyway, so I don’t mind if you think mine are a little off-the-wall)
I don’t get to see either of my brothers very often. In this dream, I was together with my middle brother, Scott. We went to play a game I can only call Poker Baseball, though in the dream it did not have a name.
Poker Baseball shares commonalities with, in addition to poker and baseball, bingo and model railroading.
There is one Dealer. The Dealer wears a mask, a la The Phantom of the Opera. You know that he’s hiding a pretty nasty face underneath there. The rest of his costume and attitude, however, remind me of if The Phantom of the Opera were playing the role of The Arftul Dodger transposed to the aristocracy.
The game is held in a large hall. Any number of people may play along, but the most important players ride on the train which circles on a track throughout the hall. The spectators occupy galleries that are stacked on top of each other, with archways cut out of them, allowing the train to be visible. It looks like what the Roman Colosseum looks like from the outside. Another comparison would be the opening of the Muppet Show by way of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The players on the train play against the Dealer. (presumably, the spectator-players have some other automatic, and less glamorous way of acquiring their cards)
The rules are simple: The Dealer lays down his card, and the Player lays down theirs. If the Player’s card is lower, the Player has earned an Out for that Inning. If the Player’s card is higher than the Dealer’s, that is a Hit–and depending upon the difference in value between the two cards, any number of points may be awarded, in addition to other interactive elements taking effect. The train remains immobile, for example, until a certain Hit is achieved at which point the train speeds through the galleries, with the motion of the train making the Players more unhinged and likely to make poor card-playing decisions.
I watched my brother play. In real life, Scott is a moderately talented Blackjack player, and I always enjoy watching him at the table. In Poker Baseball, however, he was distracted by the crowds shouting recommendations for his card-playing. He still did well, but probably not as well as he would have done if he had been left in silence to think first.
I was also a Player. My turn at bat came just after the train had finished a race through the crowds, and so my heart was pounding pretty fast. The Dealer announced me, and also lamented that we had lost our Umpire. He invited me to fill the role. I said that I would love to, but was it okay that I batted against the Dealer as well as called my own Strikes, Outs, and Hits. The Dealer said it would be fine……… as long as I played fairly. There was a certain menace in his tone when he suggested this.
My three turns at bat came and went quickly. A four to the Dealer’s Queen. A Jack to the Dealer’s ace. An eight to the Dealer’s King. I had earned three Outs, and called them as such. I was having a great time as an Umpire.
But it was, apparently, too good of a time. I earned, from the Dealer, a penalty for enjoying a Player’s misfortune too much. It was right there in the rulebook: Umpires must be impartial. Even though it was my own misfortune, and the sense of play, that I was gleeful about.
The penalty, assigned by the Dealer, was that the Dealer would reveal his face to the audience. He sang a short poem about his mask before taking it off. When he did, the face was revealed to be that of a man with a tall head, long and thin gray muttonchop sideburns, and a visage riddled with pockmarks, warts, and acne.
The audience reacted in disgust; some verbally, some merely groaning, and some only turning away.
But the game was not over. There was still more to play, and the train began moving again…
At this point I woke up.
